China Evergrande boosts stake in rival Vanke

China Evergrande Group, the country's largest property developer, increased its stake in rival China Vanke Co, renewing concerns about a potential battle for control.

The Guangzhou-based developer bought 161.9 million Shenzhen-listed Vanke shares from Aug 16 to Nov 9, Evergrande said in a filing to Hong Kong's stock exchange after the close of trading on Wednesday, boosting its stake to 8.3 percent. Evergrande has spent about 18.8 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) buying shares in Vanke, it said.

Evergrande, controlled by Chinese billionaire chairman Hui Ka Yan, has been on a debt-funded buying spree in the past year. It built up its land bank in China and plans to inject assets into Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Real Estate & Properties Group Co, a property company listed on the Chinese mainland.